Feb. 6, 2012
WALTHAM, MA - The Johns Hopkins women's fencing team won four of its five bouts at the Eric Sollee Invitational hosted by Brandeis University. Hopkins earned wins over Boston College, Tufts, MIT and host Brandeis and suffered its only loss to Brown. Sophomores Jackie Heath and Kathleen Rand each hit milestones on the day, as Heath won her 150th career bout, while Rand won her 100th.
The Blue Jays opened the day with a 16-11 win over the BC Eagles, winning the Sabre and Epee by 6-3 scores. Rand, sophomore Katherine Simeon and freshman Rachel Kalina each went 2-1 to lead JHU to a win in the Sabre. BC rebounded with a 5-4 win in the Foil, while Heath won two of her three bouts for JHU. Sophomore Liz Caris and freshman Gianna Puzzo each won two bouts to help the Blue Jays to a 6-3 win.
Brown edged Hopkins, 14-13, to hand the Blue Jays their only loss of the day. Rand went 3-0, while Simeon and Kalina each won two to give JHU a 7-2 win in the Sabre. The Bears then won the Foil, 7-2, and earned a narrow 5-4 win in the Epee. Senior Lauren Chinn won all three of her bouts in the Epee, to lead the Jays.
Hopkins won the Foil and Epee to beat MIT, 15-12. The Engineers edged the Blue Jays, 5-4, in the Sabre. Kalina led JHU with a 2-1 record in the Sabre, while Simeon and freshman Sarah Hewes each won a bout. Hopkins then got a combined five wins from senior Marion Trumbull and Heath to win the Foil, 6-3. Puzzo and junior Komal Kumar each won two bouts, while Chinn won the clinching bout as Hopkins won the Epee, 5-4.
Hopkins swept all three weapons to beat Tufts, 18-9. Simeon won all three of her bouts and Rand won a pair as JHU won the Sabre, 5-4. In the Foil, senior Jen Hession and Heath each won three bouts in a 6-3 win. Heath's third win of the round, which clinched the win for Hopkins, was her 150th career win. Caris swept all three of her bouts, and Puzzo and Kumar each won two as Hopkins won the Epee, 7-2.
The Blue Jays closed out the day with a 19-8 win over the host Brandeis Judges. Kalina led the Blue Jays with three wins, and Simeon and Rand each won two, as Hopkins won the Sabre, 7-2. Rand's second win clinched the win for JHU and was her 100th career win. Hession won three bouts and Stone won two to lead the Blue Jays to a 6-3 win in the Foil. Puzzo then swept her three bouts and Chinn had two wins as Hopkins took the Epee, 6-3.
Simeon led the Blue Jays with 10 wins on the day to improve to 54-20 on the season and 148-65 for her career. Rand and Kalina meanwhile each had nine wins. In the Epee, Puzzo paced Hopkins with nine wins and is now 43-16 this season. Heath led JHU in the Foil with nine wins to improve to 56-22 this season and 151-57 in her career.
Hopkins returns to action at the 12th annual Eastern Women's Fencing Championship. Drew will be hosting the Dual Meet championship February 12 in Madison, NJ. The championship is slated to start at 9:00 am with two-time defending champion Hopkins taking on host Drew.
